


Giving in

by velocitygrass



Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Atlantis RPS
Genre: M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-28
Updated: 2008-01-28
Packaged: 2018-01-25 21:52:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1663745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velocitygrass/pseuds/velocitygrass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joe. John. Rodney. David. Attraction. Temptation. Seduction. Invitation. And things that turn out differently than they started.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Giving in

**Author's Note:**

> Written for McSheplets challenge #11: Seduction.
> 
> Not sure where this came from. I had a hard time coming up with a non-obvious seduction story and then I thought about Joe/David and then I thought about the seduction of art imitating life imitating art, except not imitating so much as becoming. Thanks to neevebrody for the beta!
> 
> This is entirely a work of fiction.

At first the attraction had been the pure and simple prospect of actually having a steady job, a pilot that wouldn't just be a pilot, but _first_ episode of a _series_ , with a built-in audience, with a chance of success.

But then, other things came into play. A family away from home. A challenging job that forced him to do things differently. And a character that grew into something he couldn't quite explain.

_He_ is playing John Sheppard, _he_ is making the decisions, saying the lines, moving the body, but when the cameras roll it has so little to do with _him_ anymore.

He doesn't know when John became more than something in his head. He doesn't know when John got a life of his own and started to make his _own_ decisions.

And Joe sure as hell doesn't know why, with every new episode, he becomes more and more convinced that John is in love with Rodney.

~~

John had never fallen in love easily. The girls in high school had been nice, but he'd never felt all those things that books and movies made it seem like—or the other guys.

He had _adored_ his wife, but saying those three words had always felt odd to him, even then.

Since then he'd had casual relationships with women that he didn't care about at all or that he really liked. But loved? He'd not exactly given up on it, because how likely was it that all of mankind had just lied about it for thousands of years, but he'd stopped waiting for it to happen. It seemed easier that way.

Then things started happening. Things that tempted him out of the shell that his ex-wife had accused him of carrying around with him. Little steps towards other people, opening himself up, letting someone else in. It didn't even feel like anything special. It just was.

And one day, when Rodney had gotten a bit of technology to work and beamed his brightest smile at him, John simply thought, "I love him," and it didn't even surprise him, because falling in love turned out to be easy after all—if you met the right person.

~~

Rodney had been aware of John's charms from the first moment he'd set eyes on him. There was the hair and that innocent "aww-shucks" look, and when he'd gotten out of that chair, Rodney had had only one thought: that this Major was more loose-limbed than a US Air Force officer had any right to be.

It hadn't taken long for Rodney to realize that John didn't know what he was doing. It was like he had a seduction switch perpetually turned on, but had no control over it.

Rodney wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

Either way, over the years he'd arranged himself with it. It wasn't as if Sheppard's flirts ever resulted in anything serious. So at least the damage he accidentally did with his powers was minimal.

At least that had been what Rodney thought for the longest time. Until the day he realized that he desperately wanted the wide smile John shot him to mean something. He didn't want John's teasing and flirting to be accidental, like with all the others. Because, unlike with all the others, he realized what John had done to him was serious.

It was only then that he became aware John's charms had worked on him from that first moment. And the only thing he could do was trust that John wouldn't destroy him with his power.

~~

He'd desperately needed the money and he'd always loved McKay and the idea to get to show more of him, to _create_ more of him had been very inviting.

He liked the challenge of constructing different aspects of Rodney's personality—showing McKay's vulnerable side, the hero that he was deep down and the person who didn't give a damn about tact and being nice.

The writers love McKay, and David can't deny he enjoys that and the result of it, how every character gets to express their respect for him and their love.

He knows about slash of course, but for the longest time he fights seeing the thing between John and Rodney. He clings to McKay's crush on Carter and then his girlfriend, even if it never really feels right, no matter how much he tells himself and others that he loves it when McKay gets to interact with them.

Some part of him fights Rodney's feelings for John tooth and nail, which is ridiculous, because it's not as if the writers will ever truly go there. It will only ever be subtext, so it should be okay for him to let Rodney feel that way and David knows he does, every instinct in his body tells him so.

The problem is, he knows exactly _why_ Rodney feels that way. And giving in just isn't an option.


End file.
